Results at a glance
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Less manual effort
Uploads to government portals have been completely eliminated. E-invoices are generated directly in SAP and transmitted automatically.
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More transparency in SAP
The integrated e-invoice monitor provides a central view of delivery statuses and validation feedback. Errors are identified and resolved faster.
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International scalability via Peppol
Additional countries can be connected step by step without disrupting ongoing operations. Austria went live in around one week.
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And the best result:
A future-ready architecture for SAP S/4HANA and upcoming regulatory requirements across multiple countries.
Initial situation
Previously, Westfalen AG sent invoices via various channels such as post, email, PDF, and EDI. This heterogeneous system landscape resulted in high manual effort, limited transparency, and an increased risk of errors, particularly in an international context. With the introduction of mandatory B2G e-invoicing in Germany and growing regulatory requirements in countries such as Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, pressure increased on the internal SAP team to improve efficiency.
The challenges were particularly significant regarding:
- Parallel operations: Running SAP ECC while simultaneously preparing the transition to S/4HANA.
- Country-specific complexity: Varying legal requirements and formats across DE, AT, BE, and NL.
- Manual processes: Time-consuming uploads to various national government portals.
- Lack of transparency: Missing end-to-end visibility into delivery statuses.
- Limited scalability: Difficulties in scaling due to heterogeneous transmission channels and complex custom developments within SAP.
Selection criteria
Based on this initial situation, it became clear that an integrated e-invoicing solution was required that could be fully embedded in SAP, reduce manual activities, and reliably map international requirements. On the recommendation of SAP partner GoPus, ecosio was brought in as a specialised partner for Peppol connectivity as well as the validation, routing, and international transmission of structured e-invoices. Decisive factors included country-specific transmission, transparent status feedback, and the close coordination between GoPus and ecosio.
Result: Efficient processes and international scalability
Through the integration, e-invoices are generated directly in SAP, validated, and transmitted via Peppol. An integrated e-invoice monitor provides a central overview of delivery statuses and validation feedback directly within the SAP system. This eliminates the need for external portals and significantly accelerates troubleshooting. Manual effort, particularly the uploading of invoices to government portals, has been completely eliminated. At the same time, the solution enables the rapid connection of additional countries and provides a future-proof architecture for the planned deployment under SAP S/4HANA.
“For me, this is a clear efficiency gain. I can see the delivery status of my e-invoices at a glance and am immediately alerted if an error occurs. With the e-invoice monitor, I get a quick overview, can filter, drill down, and carry out troubleshooting directly.”
A clear commitment to partnership
A key success factor of the project was the close collaboration between GoPus and ecosio. Clear role allocation, high availability from both partners, and well-coordinated cooperation enabled a fast and stable implementation. When asked about the collaboration, Markus Liesche emphasises:
“New requirements are fulfilled very quickly.”
Westfalen AG has already decided to continue using the solution in its future SAP S/4HANA system and therefore feels well prepared for upcoming regulatory requirements and international mandates.
